


Ray the Pie Ghost

by Onlymostydead



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Characters and tags will update as I go, Fake AH Crew, Fluff, Gender non-conforming Jack, Light Angst, M/M, Major Character Dead?, Multi, Non-Binary Ryan, Slight sexual implications, ghost!ray
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-16
Updated: 2016-12-03
Packaged: 2018-07-15 08:40:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 11,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7215424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onlymostydead/pseuds/Onlymostydead
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of glimpses into the Fake Ah Crews life- or death in Ray's case.<br/>AKA<br/>Ray is haunting their apartment, and Ryan is just trying to keep things from going to shit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. He Eyed the piece of Pie

**Author's Note:**

> This might end up being more of a series of one shots.
> 
> Also! Words put 'like this' mean that they're signed!

It had been six minutes.  
Six minutes of Ryan awkwardly watching at the flickering form of what appeared to be a child, staring at his piece of pie.

He had two choices, or at least two apparent ones at the moment.  
He could eat the pie; it was his anyway. Who cares that this kid was eying it, it was his piece of pie.

Yet that didn't really seem right.

Ryan had known that something else was in the apartment for a while now, a few months, in fact. It didn't really bother him. The ghost had never been particularly malevolent. The worst he did was leave the TV on, or wake him up in the middle of the night by knocking something over. He seemed to be rather clumsy by how often that happened- or he just didn't watch where he was going.

Eating the pie didn't really feel like the right thing to do, yet the other option wasn't exactly great either.

He could offer the kid the piece.  
He wasn't that hungry after all, even though it was his pie it wasn't like he needed it.

Can ghosts even eat pie? That question added a whole new level to the dilemma, offering the piece to it could be taken as rude, and if Ryan had payed attention to any of the awful horror movies Michael loved he knew one thing: never get a ghost angry at you.

Seven minutes.

The ghost looked up.

It seemed startled to see Ryan standing there, disappearing for a moment.  
A second later it flickered back into view, it's facial expression more bored than anything.

'Hi' it signed, a slow smile creeping onto its face.

Ryan, rather than responding, remained standing there, hands by his sides, mouth opening and closing as if to speak. No words, or sounds for that matter, came. He lifted his hands to reply-

'I can hear you, stop smacking your lips like an idiot'

"Hi," Ryan offered, his brain finally returning after having been so lost in thought. "Would you like some?"

He sat down and pulled out another chair for the ghost to do likewise, pushing the plate closer to its seat.  
It took the offer and sat down, sitting on its knees like a small child.  
Ryan could see its face now, and could better judge its size. Despite how it acted it's body, when it died, couldn't have been younger than sixteen.

'Can't.' It signed, shoulders slumping considerably, mouth forming a bit of a pout. It honestly looked more sad, or tired than upset.

"I'm sorry."

'It's okay, I'm used to it'

They spent a few more seconds in silence, roles reversed as now Ryan eyed the pie, the ghost seeming content studying the table. Shaking its head a bit, as to clear it, it turned to Ryan.  
It seemed to chuckle, though no noise was made, its face made that obvious, as did the way it shook slightly.

'You can eat it' 

It seemed quite amused by Ryan's hesitance, the grin remaining on it's face until he had finished the whole piece.  
A tad bit unnerving, if you asked Ryan.

'I'm Ray' it signed once he had finished scraping his plate of the last crumbs.

"Ryan."

It raised its eyebrows, as if unimpressed.

'I know who you are.'

That earned another minute of complete silence, it seemed to realize its error as Ryan stared, eyes wide, trying to decide on how to respond.

'Was that creepy?' Ray quickly signed.

Ryan chuckled as the ghost- Ray's face lit up a bit brighter. Perhaps the ghostly equivalent of blushing.

"Yeah, a little bit."

Ray seemed to brighten up a bit at Ryan's laughter, chuckling once more, eyes falling once more down to the table.

When Ryan came back to the table after putting away his plate he found Ray was nowhere to be seen.  
Perhaps he would see Ray the Pie Ghost again.  
He hoped he would.


	2. Black Coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Good morning! Straight black coffee and some not-so-straight shenanigans <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Superstitious Geoff is a favorite.

The ghost- Ray was sitting on the counter, dangling its feet as Ryan set about making a pot of coffee. He moved mechanically around the kitchen, mind groggy without his customary caffeine. Ray seemed to be watching him, its eyes darting around the kitchen, following his every move.  
It had gotten far less creepy in the last few weeks as they conversed more and more. It just wasn't used to interacting with (living) people.  
Ryan shrugged, it wasn't like there were many people it could talk to, for the time being even the other members of the crew didn't know it was there.  
Bringing himself back to reality he poured himself a cup of coffee, waiting only a few seconds before drinking it. Ray wrinkled his nose at this, eyebrows raised in a judgement all gaze.

'That's super gross'

"So I've been told," Ryan chuckled. 

Jeremy couldn't stand his coffee black either, and as far as Gavin was concerned coffee itself was the worst, and even more heinous without anything sweet to mask the flavor.  
Ray crossed its arms as Ryan continued to drink, rolling its eyes.

"It really isn't that bad, you know."

Ray made a face Ryan could only translate as 'Pfft' as he signed.

'I'll take your word for it.'

Smiling, Ryan downed the rest of his coffee, setting the mug in the sink as Jack walked by the kitchen, on their way to the bedroom most likely. Ray waved its hand in front of his face to get Ryan's attention, making an exaggerated huffing motion when he turned to face it.

'Remind me why I have to hide from your super-attractive partners?'

"You would scare them too badly, and Geoff would definately overreact, we don't want him to call an exorcist again. I've told you how he is when it comes to the supernatural."

Ryan had to explain that too often, Ray wasn't exactly the most subtle, or careful for that matter.  
It mouthed something Ryan didn't quite catch, crossing its arms. Glancing back at him it seemed to be preparing for a response.

Realization dawned on it, Ryan knew as its shoulders fell and Ray once more rolled its eyes.

'Sign, I forgot. Let's try that again...'

Ray once more made a mock-pouting face, crossing his arms before raising them to speak.

'Whatever, fuck you.'

Ryan chuckled softly, setting about washing the dishes.

"So, is there a reason you always sign?"

Ray rolled its eyes and slid off the counter, standing in front of the sink- and beside Ryan.

'When you're dead it's kinda hard to make any noises that the living can hear that don't sound like they came straight from Satan's butthole. It's draining enough to stay visible all the time'

Ryan burst out laughing, almost dropping the bowl in his hands. He hadn't thought of that, not until Ray had forgotten he couldn't be heard.

"What are you laughing about?" Geoff asked, entering the kitchen and looping his arms around Ryan's waist.

"Nothing," Ryan chuckled, glancing over to see Ray was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are love, I'm buried in Tumblr at Supertinydom. <3


	3. A Late Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan can't sleep, and come to think of it, is Ray even capable of sleeping?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm messing around with a few ideas, humor me.

"You know one of the others could have found you, right?"

Ryan hadn't been able to sleep, so he had gotten up with the intention of getting a snack. He had been startled to find the X-Box on, a floating controller playing Halo. After his eyes had adjusted, or after Ray had realized Ryan was there, its form flickered into sight. It was curled up around the controller, leaning forward, its eyes wide.  
Ray shot him a glare before pausing the game.

'Would it really matter?'

Ryan sighed, popping the tab off his can of Diet Coke. 

"We've been over this, Ray."

Ray continued as if he hadn't heard him, completely immersed in the game. Stopping only because it's character died, Ray turned to face Ryan.

'You're not my dad.' He signed apathetically before getting back to the game.

Ryan absentmindedly noticed that the gamer tag was none of theirs, and it certainly wasn't a default one. The fact that he had a gamer tag implied that;  
(a) ghosts can make X-Box accounts,   
(b) Ray died recently,   
or   
(c) it hacked/stole someone else's account.  
Any of these were fairly odd, though the first was by far the funniest for Ryan. What would it put its age as?  
He would have to get Gavin to look into it, Ryan was shit at hacking. He could barely figure out most tech as it was.

"Brown man..."

Ray paused the game, dropping the controller into its lap.

'Yeah, what?' It signed quickly, its face betraying its annoyance. 

Ryan took a moment to realize he had said that aloud.

"Just wondering why-"

'It was an old nickname,' Ray cut him off. 'Despite this weird shade of ectoplasm-y white I appear to be right now, I am anything but.'

Ryan raised his eyebrow.

'White, that is.'

Ryan nodded. He could swear that he had heard that name before, but that might just be his groggy mind trying to make connections.  
Regardless, Ryan wrote it down on the small pad of paper he kept in his pocket.

***

"Can I join you?" Ryan asked after about a half an hour, coming to the realization that he would not be able to get to sleep tonight.

Ray looked over at him and grinned, quickly setting up multiplayer. He set down its controller, the spare one, Ryan noted, to sign.

'I'm going to demolish your ass.'

"If you can," Ryan chuckled, picking up his own controller.

They played all night, until the sun peeked in through the windows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are love, you can find my grave on Tumblr at supertinydom <3


	4. Drink your Milk (part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ooh, turning the focus to the others for a bit! Featuring a huge mess, and a lot of dairy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Splitting this into two to decrease stress, and provide sorta consistent updates <3  
> Feedback is not only welcome, but encouraged if you feel up to it!

"Okay, which one of you cunts spilled the milk literally everywhere!" Geoff yelled from the kitchen, his forceful footsteps approaching the bedroom.

The lads stirred, Geoff's angered yelling having woken them.

"Why the fuck would I spill your milk?" Michael groaned, rolling over. He buried his face in his pillow. "Lactose Intolerant, remember?"

"Even better reason for me to think it was you," Geoff paused. "No, seriously. Which one of you did it?"

Gavin yawned and rubbed his eye.  
"Maybe you spilt in while you were drunk, and you just don't remember," He yawned yet again, smacking his lips.

"I think I would fucking remember making that big of a mess." Geoff said.

"There can't be that much milk," Jeremy mumbled, "You're exaggerating..."

He rolled over, pulling the covers off Gavin in the process.

"Hey!" Gav squawked indignantly, pulling on the blanket. "Give that back!"

"Whoever spilled the milk is cleaning it up, 'cause I'm not!" Jack hollered, likely from the kitchen.

"It was prolly Rye," Gavin noted, giving up trying to get the blanket back from Jeremy. "I haven't heard him..."

They all took a few moments to consider this before Jack popped their head in the door, shushing them.

"Ryan fell asleep on the couch, it's amazing we haven't woken him yet, so shut the fuck up." They hissed, meeting each of their eyes to make sure they were paying attention.

Geoff sighed. "Come on, one of you had better own up to this during breakfast." 

"But we're out of milk!" Gavin whined, curling up in the blankets that had now been abandoned by Jeremy. "There's no reason to get up!"

"You don't even like cereal, fuckface." Michael ruffled Gav's hair before yanking the covers off of him, which earned him an angry squawk.

"Give those-" Gavin started.

"Shhh! Ryan is still trying to sleep!" Jack whispered.

"Right, sorry..." Gav moped, getting out of bed, quickly overcoming his downcast mood to pull on Michael's T-shirt.

Michael started "Hey, that's my-"

"Shh, You're gonna wake up Rye." Gavin grinned, smug as he sauntered out of the room in Michael's shirt.

"Bitch," Michael muttered to himself, reaching for a sweatshirt of Ryan's that had been left on the floor.

***

"Holy shit, there really is milk everywhere." Gavin noted, taking in the scene.

The entire floor was covered, as if the carton had been tipped upside-down onto the floor. The- now mostly empty- jug was on the counter, a few cups around it knocked down, as if it had been thrown.

"I'm gonna take a wild guess and say it was Geoff..." Gavin added, tiptoeing into the kitchen to start a kettle.

"And why," Geoff joined in in the kitchen, popping a piece of bread into the toaster. "Would you say that?"

"I mean, you'd have to be a drunk or an absolute boar to do that," Gavin paused, scratching his jaw. "Or it could've been Micoo,"

"He fits the other requirement." Jeremy chortled, huffing angrily upon the realization that Geoff was already using the toaster.

"Fucking asses," Michael reached into the kitchen, careful to not step into the milk, grabbing a towel from the refrigerator handle. He set it down on the floor, soaking up at least some of the offending dairy. "Still think it was either Geoff or Ryan."

"Pfft, whatever." Geoff rolled his eyes, taking his toast out of the toaster.

Jeremy slid down from the place he had taken sitting on the counter to put his bread in the toaster. Buttering his toast, Geoff began humming whatever shitty pop song he had heard on the radio recently. Gavin measured out tea, taking the kettle off the burner. Michael opened the microwave to heat up some leftover Chinese food, noticing a pink sticky note stuck to the front.

"Okay, that's just too far." Michael exclaimed, taking down the note. "Which one of you fucks wrote this?"

"Wrote what?" Gavin asked.

Michael shoved the note into his hands before returning to the microwave to heat up his breakfast.

"We're out of milk. That's all it bloody says! We're out of milk!"

They all stood for a moment, glaring at the neatly penciled words. A smacking noise caught their attention, each of them glancing across the room.

Ryan rubbed at his eyes, yawning as he entered the kitchen.

"What's going on?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are love, I'm soaking in milk at Supertinydom on Tumblr <3


	5. Drink your Milk (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ooh, finally resolving the issue of the spilled dairy!  
> (It was Professor Plum, in the Kitchen, with the Lead Pipe :D)

"What's going on?" Ryan yawned as he entered the kitchen, seemingly unaware of the milk soaking into his socks.

Geoff started to explain, "Uh, someone-"

"Nothing! Nothing is going on." Michael cut him off, meeting Geoff's eyes as if to say 'Let's see how far this'll go.'

Ryan, still completely oblivious, poured himself a bowl of cereal. Opening the refrigerator he scanned the contents, noting the lack of milk. 

"Hey, can you gimme the milk?" He asked, his voice still bleary from sleep.

"We're out of milk." Jeremy commented, taking a bite from his toast to hide his growing grin.

"Oh," Ryan stared at his bowl of cereal for a sad moment before grabbing a spoon and beginning to eat it dry. "I'll have to go get some later." He grumbled, mouth still full.

He went to leave the kitchen, Jack glaring at the others, though they seemed to be holding back laugher.  
Gavin broke first, breaking out in a fit of giggles. Michael and Geoff soon followed, along with Jeremy and Jack.

"Hey, hey hun, let's not get any milk on the carpet." Geoff said, grabbing Ryan by the arm and leading him back into the kitchen.

"What? We're... Oh." Ryan now noticed the thin layer of milk that covered the floor, and now soaked into his socks and the bottoms of his pant legs.

"Yeah, someone... spilled." Gavin understated, gesturing over to the empty jug on the counter.

"Left an asshole note, too." Michael said, slurping his noodles. "Just says 'we're out of milk'."

Ryan shook himself awake and grabbed the said note from the counter, unsurprised that he didn't recognize the handwriting. Sighing, he set it down. He knew exactly who did it.

"I'll clean this up," he volunteered, setting down his bowl of cereal. "Geoff, can you go get some more milk?"

"Jack's already about to go, I'll help you out with that." Geoff grabbed a kitchen towel and dried off his feet, exiting the kitchen. "I'll go get the mop, babe."

"Thanks," Ryan grabbed another towel and began to soak up the milk.

He would be talking to Ray after this. 

***

"So, tell me again why you spilled the milk everywhere?" Ryan said.

'I wanted to drink some milk.' Ray signed, hanging its head in what would have looked like shame if it didn't have a ghostly DS resting in its lap.

"Straight from the carton?" Ryan sighed, pressing his face into his hand for a moment before turning his attention back to Ray.

Ray's wicked grin flickered in and out of view. 'What other way is there?'

Ryan face palmed yet again, exhaling deeply.

"Then why did you throw the carton?" He asked.

Ray began to fidget its hands, shutting its DS and slipping it into his pocket.

'I... Got mad.'

"That's it? You got mad?" Ryan said, disbelief ringing through his voice.

'It just... I...' Ray glanced around, out of fear or a lack of the ability to explain Ryan wasn't sure.

'It gets rough not being able to really feel anything.' He finally signed, shoving his hands in his pockets in a way that clearly stated that he did not want to talk.

"Okay, I didn't mean to pry." Ryan gave it an apologetic smile, realizing that patting it on the back wasn't exactly possible.

'Thanks' Ray signed quickly before curling up around his DS once more.

"But can you at least pour yourself a glass next time?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are love, I'll be mopping up milk on Tumblr at Supertinydom <3


	6. Dry-er Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan is just trying to do the laundry.

It was Ryan's turn to do the laundry, which already wasn't off to a great start. The six of them were all decently tidy, not too many articles of clothing were left on the floor- but the few stains and spills on their clothing tended to be fairly disgusting. The blood didn't bother him too much, but even with hydrogen peroxide it was hard to scrub out.  
In their line of work, he couldn't complain, though.   
Ryan sighed and heaped the first load of clothes into the washer. He turned it on and went back to his book, leaning against the machine. He didn't want to forget to take out the load once it had finished.

***

The washer finished in the middle of a chapter, leaving Ryan to simply sigh and reluctantly put down his book. He began to mechanically take the clothes out, opening the dryer to put them in.

"Oh, Ray!" Ryan exclaimed, almost dropping an armload of wet clothes onto it. "Get out of there!"

Looking up from its cozy place in the dryer, Ray blinked its eerie, glowing eyes a couple times before putting its head back down, curling himself up once more.

"I need to put these-" Ryan gestured to the dripping clothes. "-in there- are you listening to me?"

Ray looked up once more, frowning. Reluctantly it raised its hands to reply.

'But it's warm in here.' It signed, pouting as a child might.

"It's going to get awfully cold in a second when I put the laundry in there," Ryan paused, contemplating Ray's apathy. "And wet." He added.

Ryan waited for about thirty seconds, no signs of leaving coming from Ray.

"Okay then," Ryan feigned being reluctant. "It seems I have no other choice." He stated, dramatically gesturing with his free arm before dumping the wet clothes unceremoniously on Ray.

Ray took no notice, still curled up as if asleep. The clothing was visible through its body, its outline disappearing into the wet heap.  
Upon further investigation, Ryan realized that Ray was not entirely inside the dryer, rather it was sitting where the dryer was, legs halfway inside the machine.

Sighing, Ryan closed the dryer door and started it. As long as it wasn't deciding to be solid, it shouldn't cause any problems.   
He didn't technically see Ray leave the machine, he only caught a glimpse of a flickering light exit it. He wasn't the only one to see the spark, either. Scooter ran faster than would have been deemed possible to get away from the spot it had been. Or was it zipper? It was one of 'Lil J's cats, he knew that much.

"Who were you talking to?" Jeremy asked, leaning against the doorframe. Speak of the devil- or at least speak of his cats.

Ryan paused, once more picking up his book before bursting out laughing.

"The cat- somehow he got into the dryer." He replied, grinning at Jeremy.

Jeremy sighed and face palmed.

"You didn't start it with him in it, right?" He asked.

"Of course not, he jumped right out when I dropped a wet sock on him." Ryan's grin somehow grew, still chuckling.

Jeremy looked as if he was trying to seem unamused, but the laugh that broke free of his lips betrayed that.

"You're such a weirdo." Jeremy reached up and ruffled Ryan's bangs, smirking as he bopped his nose.

***

It wasn't until nearly two hours later that Ryan realized Ray couldn't feel the heat of the dryer. Why would it- Never mind, Ryan decided.  
There were some things to question, and there were others that just made no sense.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me, curled up in a dryer, on Tumblr at Supertinydom! Comments are love <3


	7. My Queen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is kind of a weird chapter, trying something different it seems.  
> Llllllllet's Play! Some Chess!

"You move first." Ryan instructed, gesturing to the chess board laid out before him.

It wasn't extremely common that the others would play chess with him, besides Jack. It had been a surprise when Ray had seemed interested in playing. It shifted its weight from side to side, leaning awkwardly.

'I don't actually know how to play.' It finally signed, though it did plop down to the floor, across the board from Ryan.

"That's part of why I told you, the white pieces move first." Ryan explained.

Ray rolled his eyes in a way Ryan had learned to take as 'Pfft'.

'Racist.' It signed, unimpressed as it moved the first pawn forward. 

***  
They played on for some time, Ryan patiently explaining the rules. If, of course, by patiently you mean with the occasional threat to re-kill Ray, or an outburst over a broken rule it had already been told about. Ray, for its credit, didn't seem to mind. Rather it seemed to gain some sadistic pleasure from every time he got Ryan riled up.

"For the fifteenth time! You can't move your queen like that!" Ryan groaned, glaring at Ray's flickering form.

'Yes I can.' It signed, crossing its arms and smirking.

"No, you really can't." Ryan sighed, moving to put the piece back.

Ray's hand, electrifying yet impossibly cold, stopped his hand before it could reach the queen.

'That's my queen, a ghost queen. She can move where she wills, to get where she wants.' Ray explained, eyes piercing in their contact.

Ryan sighed, reluctantly pulling his hand back. It was better than playing with Meg, or getting destroyed by Jack and Jeremy.

"Alright, I take your queen." Ryan moved, strategically taking out its queen. 

Ray said nothing, it simply scanned the chess board for its next move. Ryan could have sworn he saw its lips move, but he didn't quite catch what it said.  
And what did it say?

Damned back to hell.

***  
They played for a good long while before they noticed him. Michael stood, leaning against the bedroom doorframe, observing the game. It wasn't until Ray, exasperated by having lost the third game in a row, flipped the board that they noticed his presence.  
How did they notice him, you might ask?

Ryan swept his piece over the board, knocking over one of Ray's and securing the game.

"Checkmate." He declared, a faint smile on his face. 

There wasn't much glory in winning, he was teaching Ray how to play after all. Nonetheless it was satisfying to see Ray so annoyed, angered by having lost to Ryan yet again.  
Ryan was expecting to get a thorough chewing out, or one of the 'Go Kill Yourself' jokes Ray seemed to be ever so fond of. What he was not expecting, however, was the chess board to be flung at his face. Pieces flew everywhere, making a mess he would no doubt be shortly cleaning up.  
Expected even less than that, however, was Michael's snorting laughter from the doorway.  
Ray, who had been pouting, disappeared, leaving Ryan with a mess of chess pieces and a lot of explaining to do. Michael's laughter faded, his eyes on Ryan as he awaited answers.

"I was... Playing a game by myself?" Ryan offered, setting about picked up the scattered pieces. 

"No you weren't, you piece of shit. Don't try to lie to me." Michael deadpanned, squatting down to help him gather the game.

Ryan remained quiet, setting up the board once more. He wasn't sure why he did it, after all it didn't seem as if Ray would be playing another game with him. Right now he should have been more worried about just how long Michael had been watching.

"Playing with... It?" Michael asked, twirling the black knight piece between his fingers. "I know there's something living in the penthouse, and I know you've been... Communicating with... It. Don't play dumb."

Ryan sighed, placing the white king in its place on the board. 

"Yeah. I was playing with it." Ryan admitted.

There was a short pause, the silence could have been cut with a knife. Finally Michael set down a piece on the board- the white knight- and chuckled softly.

"Dude, I don't care. As long as you don't tell Geoff, we're all good here. I do not want another 'exorcist'" Michael made air quotes. "Spraying all my shit with holy water again. Okay?"

Ryan smiled. Michael could be so straightforward it was a relief. Explaining to any of the others could have been... Difficult to say the least. Getting them to keep quiet wouldn't be hard, though. No one wanted a repeat of Geoff's last paranormal panic.

"Okay," Ryan answered, patting the ground beside the, now set up, board. "You want to play a couple rounds?"

Michael pondered this, breaking into a grin as he flopped down on the opposite side of the board.

"If you lose, you take my turn with the laundry. Deal?" The devious smile that lit up his boyfriend's eyes should have been a bad indicator for Ryan, but he continued.

"Deal. Your move- white pieces go first."

Michael, a cocky grin on his face, took first move.

***

About halfway through the game Ray appeared again, signing bad advice to the both of them as the where they should move. They seemed relieved, Michael and Ray both. Michael relieved to finally have confirmation about the occurrences around the apartment, and Ray to have at least one more of the six it could talk to.  
The game was a lengthy one; Ryan could tell Michael had been playing with Jeremy and Jack a lot more. He had gotten far better than since they had last played. Last time had resulted in yet another board to the face.  
That seemed to happen a lot, come to think of it.

Ryan eventually came out on top, an evil grin on his face as he finally declared 'checkmate'.

Michael groaned and began to reset the board.

"Does that mean you get my turn with the laundry?" Ryan inquired, rearranging the pieces once more.

"Fat chance, dick wad. Rematch." Michael spat, aiding him in the process of setting up the board.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me rematching Ryan at Supertinydom on Tumblr! Comments are love <3


	8. A 90 Degree Turn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Man, what is up with Ray recently? 
> 
> Ray keeps messing with the temperature in the penthouse, and things aren't looking too good.
> 
> (The summer heat, man)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I see FAHC Ryan as Non-Binary, but he's still questioning. That's why I'll be using he/him pronouns for him, at least in this story. I'm not sure about others. If you have input about this please talk to me, but respectfully, please <3
> 
> Let's see what mess I've made this time, shall we?

Things in the penthouse were going pretty great. If by great, you mean absolutely terrible.

 

Geoff sat in his study, working on a stack of paperwork that reached to nearly the size of Gavin's nose, or perhaps just half that size. It was enormous either way, and filling it out was taking double the time he thought it would. His brain was fried, the ink on the pages seeming to swim and boil. Loosening his tie, he unbuttoned the top button of his dress shirt. He had already removed his heavy suit jacket, which now lay neatly over the back of a chair.

"Why is it so damn hot in here." he muttered to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose.

At least Michael and Gavin were keeping it down now, but this headache was a sure reminder of the noise.

***

All morning this temperature problem persisted, each of them checking the thermostat as they passed by. Jack did this now, nearly passing it by but stopping suddenly as they read it.

"Alright, whose idea of a joke is this?" They said, lifting their voice so that everyone might hear.

Switching the hand in which they held their glass of water, Jack adjusted the thermostat back to a reasonable temperature. They took a sip, sighing as they walked away from the wall.

"Probably Michael or Gavin," they finally decided. "And they'll probably change it back, too."

***

Jeremy sat poised on the end of his chair, eyes firmly set on the device on the wall. He had been sitting there for three minutes now, since he had last turned the thermostat back down again. Five times now he had to readjust it, and this time he was not going to miss whoever it was who kept tinkering with it.  
So there he sat- ready and waiting.  
Whoever kept changing it was in for a little surprise.

***

Ryan sighed, fanning himself lazily with his free hand as he turned a page in his book. Already having taken off his jacket, he placed his bookmark in the book and shut it.   
Whoever was messing with the heat had better cut that out, he thought to himself. For now changing into something cooler would be best.

***

A little cooler in his skirt, Ryan made his way to the kitchen. Or at least he planned to- as he passed through the living room he checked the thermostat, turning it back down to a reasonable temperature.

Only to be met by a fuming mad Jeremy.

"So it's you! You're the one who keeps doing that!" He growled, approaching Ryan with an intensity few could rival.

"No, I- look, I turned it back down." He gestured to the device, watching as Jeremy scanned him and then it. "See, I didn't do it."

"Bullshit, you're trying to pretend you didn't, and you didn't actually mess with it." He spat, eyeing Ryan suspiciously.

"I promise Jeremy, I didn't." Ryan said, trying to keep his voice as level as possible. Though his anger over such a small thing was laughable, having the wrong reaction could be quite incriminating.

And nothing made Jeremy more mad than when someone laughed at him about being mad. Plus, he couldn't really blame him for the poor reaction to heat. Jeremy was fairly new in Los Santos, Ryan knew that it didn't get nearly as hot in Boston.

"Then who did? I have been watching this damn thing for five fucking minutes, and no one but you has come by!" Jeremy's brows knit together, deep in thought. "Unless..."

The both of them pondered this for a moment, quickly meeting a conclusion.

"Gavin," they both groaned, synchronized in their disappointment. "He must have hacked the systems." Ryan added, noting the way 'Lil J's shoulders dropped their tension.

"Have you seen Gav around?" Jeremy asked.

"No, I haven't. I haven't seen Michael either, come to think of it." Ryan noted absently. "Or Gavin's laptop."

"Well then, I am going to be talking to them later." Jeremy looked back at the thermostat once more, as if wishing the numbers to stay in place. "Thanks." He smiled.

Leaning up onto his tiptoes, Jeremy pressed a kiss to Ryan's jaw. The sentiment of a kiss to the cheek was there, if not the height. Ryan's only response was a soft smile as Jeremy turned away, presumably to the kitchen. 

Ryan stepped forward as to follow, but decided instead to wait.   
Ray would be coming by here sooner or later.

***

Sure enough, Ray did come.   
Though Ryan didn't see him per se, he did glimpse the button being pressed to turn the heat back up.

"Ray." He said, firmly warning him.

It flickered into view.

'What?' It signed, eyes wide and eyebrow raised.

Ryan smiled, if nothing to keep his voice down.

"Please-" He stressed. "Will you stop messing with the heat." 

'But I'm cold.' Ray signed, softly shifting his weight from side to side.

"Ray, I don't know you can feel... heat." Ryan's voice was almost a question.

If it was a question his confirmation was the way it hung it's head. The silence was long and drawn out before Ray replied.

'Yeah.' It signed slowly, as if tired before dropping its hands into its pockets.

"I'm sorry if-" Ryan started.

'No, it's fine.' He hastily signed before once more shoving its hands into its hoodie pocket.

It turned away before flickering out of sight. 

Ray hadn't seemed angry, only sad, but who knew?   
Ryan hoped that he hadn't made him angry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me sweating like a whore in church at Supertinydom on Tumblr, Comments are love <3


	9. Noodles?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeremy just wants to play his game and eat his takeout in peace.  
> It doesn't go as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the absence- I plan on continuing this story but with school and other stuff it's a little hard to stay caught up. Hopefully things will be a little more regular as things fall into a better rhythm.

It was four o'clock in the morning and Jeremy watched in horror as more noodles floated up from his takeout, falling back down into the box with a sloppy noise. Once more the chopsticks picked up a few noodles, dropping them soon after.  
Rubbing his eyes, he watched as the chopsticks repeated the motion once more. Again they did it, and again the noodles splattered down into the box. It tried over and over, but as close as Jeremy looked he could see only the floating utensils and leftover Chinese food.  
Carefully he drew his pocketknife, not wanting to risk shooting a gun in the penthouse. He set down the X-Box controller, sneaking silently around the couch so that whatever was there couldn't see him, though it hadn't noticed him yet and part of him doubted it would. A few short steps (though it's hard for him to make any other kind) placed him by where whatever it was attempting to eat his food.  
With a short burst of movement Jeremy stabbed it, plunging his knife into the invisible creature. No resistance met the blade, as if nothing but air was there. Not accounting for this, Jeremy slid forward, running into the table with a loud THUNK.  
The clatter of chopsticks being dropped followed, and the splatter of wet noodles falling once more into the box. Perhaps that did do something, Jeremy thought, pulling himself upright... Or perhaps it was a coincidence and he was seeing things.

"Or maybe I just haven't slept in... Way too long." He muttered, leaving the box of takeout where it sat on the table. "Should probably get some sleep."

He could have sworn he saw a flicker of movement as he left the room, but the quiet hiss that followed was what sent him back. Stalking back to the table, he first examined the chopsticks. They didn't appear be rigged with anything, and he couldn't seem to find any magnets. Determining that he wouldn't find anything there, he closed the takeout box and began to search the room. Thoroughly examining anywhere someone could be hiding, he moved about the room.   
With a sigh he resigned himself to searching the penthouse, careful to do so quietly as to not wake the others. No matter how hard he looked, he found nothing to imply someone or something there. Part of him was tempted to find Gavin's laptop and scan the place for heat signatures, but he wasn't sure if that would even work. After all, he hadn't seen it before.  
Sure that nothing was there but still on edge, Jeremy made his way back to the living room.  
And stopped dead in his tracks.  
A rustling noise came from the inside of the closet, though faint. Upon closer investigation he found the light on, angered with himself for not noticing the thin crack of light between the wall and door.  
Sliding his knife back into his pocket he pulled out his handgun. He checked to make sure it was loaded, and cocked it. Putting one hand to the doorknob, with a deep breath he threw open the door, pointing the gun inside.  
He was met, however, with another gun pointed directly at him. 

A moment passed.

Two.

It took another second to recognize Ryan, hair messy in its braid and face betraying obvious confusion. Jeremy flicked the safety back on before tucking his gun safely back into the inside pocket of his jacket.

"Ryan. Why are you sleeping in the closet?" He hesitantly asked. 

If you learn only one thing when working with the Fakes- while being a Fake, it was that half the time it wasn't worth it to question Ryan. Right now, however, seemed like a good time to wonder.

"Safer," he murmured, setting his own gun back down. "What's going on?"

"Just-" Jeremy sighed as the adrenaline receded. "Overreacted, you should go back to sleep." 

Ryan scoffed before rolling back over, curling up against the wall. He looked oddly small. With a smile Jeremy moved forward to turn off the light.

"Leave that on, please." Ryan murmured. "It's safer with it on."

"Okay," He slowly started to close the closet door. "Goodnight, Rye."

"'Night," Ryan breathed, as Jeremy turned the knob, shutting the door as quietly as possible.

***

As Jeremy put his box of takeout back into the fridge before heading to bed, he knew that something was in the penthouse.

It would just be a matter of finding it.

***

Ray moved, silent and invisible, through the halls. He shouldn't have laughed back there, he knew it. Jeremy had heard him.   
Ryan would be pissed if he found out- but did it really matter? Jeremy seemed really nice, not at all like he would freak out.  
Plus, all he wanted was a friend. Was that too much to ask?  
Shelving that thought for now he opened the fridge, pulling out the box of takeout.   
He would figure out how to eat it- or at least taste it. It would just take a little more work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out some of my other Roosterteeth, RWBY, or RvB works if you feel like it, and find me avidly slurping noodles at Supertinydom on Tumblr!  
> Comments are Love <3


	10. Investigaions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeremy is trying to get to the bottom of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, this is a shorter chapter. I'm still trying to get back into the swing of things. Also, if something is written like (this) but otherwise looks like dialogue, that means it's texted!

"So... You say you heard something. And it was eating your noodles." Gavin's voice was heavy with disbelief, which wasn't a good sign. Jeremy had expected him to believe the story more readily.

"No, I did heard something, and it was trying to eat my noodles. Or it was just playing with them, honestly I don't know. Even weirder, I can't find that box of takeout now." Jeremy said.

"Dude, what the fuck? Sleep is good for you, and you hallucinate a lot less when you actually. Fucking. Sleep." The look on Michael's face was somewhere between worry, boredom, and anger.

It was a more common facial expression than you would think.

"And does Ryan usually sleep in the closet?" Jeremy added.

"Uh..." Gavin started, cut off by Michael's elbow to the ribs.

"Yeah, he does that sometimes. Something about being safe, but he hadn't done that in a while. Maybe he knows more about what's going on." Michael explained. "He usually only does that if something's wrong."

"If anything is going on at all." Gavin added cheerfully. 

Jeremy thought over this for a moment.

"But if he knew more, why wouldn't he have mentioned anything?" He asked. Gavin and Michael shared a glance.

"Geoff's last paranormal panic was awful, he probably doesn't want to even imply that there's something in the penthouse." Gavin said.

"Yeah, and Gavin here-" another elbow to his ribs, "Can't keep his whore mouth shut." Michael grinned at Gavin's indignant noise.

"You what?!" Gavin squawked.

Jeremy sighed.

"I'll... Try to find him then. Thanks, guys." Standing up and leaving the living room, he began looking for his laptop. 

He was going to have to do a LOT of research.

***

It had been almost two hours, and Jeremy's research had gotten nowhere. Unless he believed in ghosts, there was no real explanation other than that he hallucinated it.   
So there was nothing left to do but talk to Ryan.   
Come to think of it, Ryan had been acting pretty strangely. Talking to nothing, acting shifty when it came to the thermostat, and now he was sleeping in the closet. Whether it was a prank or something real was going on, Ryan had to have additional information.  
But if it was a prank why would Ryan go this route? Why wouldn't he just do something dumb like...  
... Spilling the milk?  
As time went on Ryan was seeming more and more guilty.  
The question now was where to find him.  
Jeremy had checked all of his normal, if they could be considered that, hiding places. Including but not limited to the roof, all of the closets, behind the couch, beside the one sunny window, and under the bed. Though the search of the penthouse did go quicker than it had the night before, having to look through the whole place twice in one week was a little bit ridiculous.  
It was only when Jeremy found Ryan's cat, Edgar, that he decided that Ryan wasn't in the penthouse. If he had been there, the cat would have been with him. With a defeated sigh he got out his phone, in hopes that Ryan would actually text back for once.

(Where are you?) Jeremy sent, not surprised when he was left on delivered.

With yet another sigh he tucked his phone back into his pocket. He would be talking to Ryan about this, how soon Jeremy wasn't sure.

***

Ryan checked his phone, reading Jeremy's message but not bothering to respond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me searching for Ryan on Tumblr at Supertinydom!  
> Comments are love <3


	11. 'The Greatest 90's Hits'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan just needs to get away for a bit.  
> But will he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is really a side project while I work on other unposted things, so if chapters are short and far between that's why <3

Ryan was out of the penthouse before dawn, grabbing nothing but his keys and his jacket before he was out the door and into his car. 

The wind blew his hair wildly as he drove as fast as he dared, no civilization in sight along the old highway. Finally he could think things through, completely alone.  
Or... so he thought.  
Something in the backseat hissed. Only allowing himself to slow for a moment Ryan slammed on the breaks, reaching for the gun that was always concealed in his breast pocket. With shock he realized it wasn't there.  
He had left his handgun on the closet floor last night, having set it down after Jeremy had startled him. In a split second he whipped out his pocketknife, turning in his seat to face the back.  
Where he saw nothing.   
Gavin had sat in the back last, and in typical fashion had left an empty coffee cup or two, but other than that, the spare blanket, and a few blood stains the backseat was empty. The blanket was folded neatly, and was in no way capable of hiding someone.  
Nothing was on the floor either, only a candy wrapper and a half eaten box of takeout.  
The wind could have easily moved something, that Ryan knew. But that wouldn't account for the cold hiss he had heard, only if there was gas...  
In an instant he was out of the car, running what he knew to be a safe distance in case of an explosion.   
So he waited.

One minute.

Two.

Ryan had lost count by the time he saw the familiar bluish flicker of movement, dim in the growing daylight.  
Ray.  
Grumbling softly he approached the car, relieved but quite annoyed to see Ray sitting in the passenger seat, holding the box of takeout.

'Dude, what was that all about?' Ray signed, setting down the box to do so.

"Well, I had thought," Ryan said, gritting his teeth. "That I was alone. You startled me."

'Well sorry, then.' Ray signed, sarcasm thick in his movements.

Ryan could feel more than he could see his eyes roll. Unclenching his teeth, he got back into the car.

"Seatbelt." He finally grunted.

'I'm dead.' Ray quipped back.

Ryan sighed, "Fair enough." 

***

Ryan had to stop for gas eventually, happy to have a break from Ray's music choices. Every time he changed the station Ray would change it right back, resulting in a very long morning consisting mainly of 'The Greatest 90's Hits.'  
Ryan wasn't sure if you could re-kill someone, but he was pretty close to trying. Considering how he might go about that, he filled the gas tank. Slamming the door shut as he got in, he started the car.   
A thought flashed across his mind as he pulled out of the station, and in an instant the spare blanket was over Ray.  
After all, that blanket was usually used to cover dead people. It still had a few bloodstains from the last heist- brown and dried now. Ryan made a mental note to wash it later.

Poking his hands out of the edge of the blanket Ray signed, 'Oh, well that's great. Look! I'm a ghost!' He began to sway back and forth comically. 'Oh wait.'

"Yeah." Ryan commented, stifling laughter. 

'Well shit. That ruined my weekend plans.' The way Ray was signing betrayed the childish grin Ryan was so used to seeing on him.

Ryan chuckled, reaching over to change the radio station to something palatable. As expected, a corner of the blanket shot out to change it back. Using the blanket as a reference point, Ryan smacked his hand away from the buttons.  
Ray seemed to pout, based on his body language through the blanket, causing Ryan to laugh even harder.  
The victory was short lived, however, the station being changed right back as soon as his attention was turned to the road.

They didn't get back to the penthouse until nightfall, listening to Ray's shit music the whole way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me with my seatbelt buckled on Tumblr at Supertinydom!  
> Comments are love <3


	12. Hello? Siri?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeremy is. Stressed.  
> Siri is not helping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obviously, I don't own Apple, or have rights to their products/copywrites. I'm not going to be updating for a while due to personal stuff, so the next chapter might take a while!  
>  <3 You!

Jeremy collapsed into the couch, letting the fabric swallow him. Sighing, he let his eyes fall shut. Worrying this much really wasn't good for sleep, this was really taking its toll on him. Plus- it was well after dark and Ryan hadn't gotten back yet.  
He knew Ryan probably just needed some space, he was like that. Being in one place for too long had never settled well with him. Sure it was better than before, he didn't disappeared off the map anymore. But still, he could afford to check his phone.  
Jeremy sighed again, this time interrupted by the beeping of his phone. In the rush of excitement it took a moment to recognize that it was not, in fact, Ryan's text tone. Rather, it was just Siri. He must have accidentally pressed the button.

"Hello." The computerized voice chimed, Jeremy looking closer at his phone.

"Hi," was written there.

Jeremy knew he hadn't said anything.

"What..." He mumbled.

"I'm not sure I understand." Siri chimed back in again.

Once more Jeremy checked to see what was said, knowing he didn't press the button.

"I'm Ray."

***

His phone fell silent, whoever 'Ray' was wouldn't respond to him. Jeremy was relieved in a way that they said nothing more, but this also just set him more on edge.   
At least he knew that he wasn't imagining things anymore- he took a screenshot of the conversation to prove it was real.  
Mostly to himself, but that wasn't the point. And Ryan would know, he would explain things in full when he got back. That is, if Ryan knew what was going on...  
...But if Ryan knew what was going on, he would have to have knowingly lied about the thermostat. And if he knowingly lied about the thermostat then of course Gavin had no clue what they were talking about when they accused him of fiddling with it. If Gavin didn't know, then Geoff and Michael probably don't either because Geoff and Gav tell each other too much, and Michael is the same way.. And if Geoff doesn't know, Jack can't either because they would have told Geoff if they thought it was important. It had to be important as well, because Ryan was sleeping in the closet which means he's stressed out.   
So Ryan couldn't have told anyone... But why not? Who was- or is, Ray?

"Here's what I found on the web for, 'Chill out.'" Siri chirped, causing Jeremy to nearly flinch out of his seat.

"Okay." Siri said, after a brief pause.

Jeremy checked the phone.

"You talk to yourself a lot." It read.

Jeremy swore under his breath, not having realized that he said all that out loud.

"From 5 definitions of 'later' the first one is..." Jeremy ignored the rest of what Siri said to read what 'Ray' said.

"Ryan will explain later."

Well then, it seemed Ryan did know what was going on, Jeremy was right. As he was sliding his phone into his pocket, the front doorknob turned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me sneaking into my house at 2am on Tumblr, at Supertinydom!  
> Comments are Love <3


	13. ...hi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan and Jeremy sort things out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to give 'lil J more character in my writing... Ack, I love him so much but I have so much trouble.  
> I try, bear with me.

Out of habit Ryan turned the doorknob slowly, as to minimize the noise. Though it was unlikely at this hour that any of the others would notice him- unless Geoff had gotten worried, that was. They had gotten fairly used to him needing to leave once in a while, and they understood that he needed space sometimes.  
Pushing open the door, Ryan was shocked to find Jeremy opening it from the other side.  
His hair was disheveled, the bags under his eyes more deeply etched than normal. The stiff fabric of his suit jacket was rumpled. Mouth opening and closing, he seemed to be trying to put together words.

"I don't- We need- Who's Ray?" He finally sputtered, a questioning light in his eyes.

Ryan stiffened for a moment, but decided quickly that Jeremy wasn't going to betray any secrets to Geoff. He knew what needed to be kept between only a few people. His shoulders relaxed. 

"Let's go up to the roof, we'll talk there." He said decisively, running a hand through his wind tangled hair as he moved.

Jeremy followed, mind still struggling for coherence. His thoughts were there, just too chaotic to be worked into a sentence.

***

When they reached the roof Ryan and Jeremy sat themselves down. Ryan dangled his legs off the edge, crossing them at the ankle. Jeremy sat to his left, keeping his own legs folded under himself.

"So. Ray," Ryan sighed, glancing over to his right. "Are you going to make this easy, or am I going to have to explain?"

Nothing but the wind answered, whisking by and further ruffling their hair. 

"Well," Ryan pursed his lips., turning to Jeremy. "You're not going to believe it, even if I told you."

"He's either a hacker, and a damn good one at that," Jeremy finally guessed.

For a split second he thought back to the chopsticks, and some of the other unexplainable phenomena.

"Or a ghost." He added.

Ryan sighed once more, glancing again to his right. Jeremy's attention was drawn by a sharp sound against the fire escape below. His first thought was that, whoever he was, Ray was down there; but a couple seconds of rational thought later made him realize it was most likely one of the cats. Ryan leaned over the edge to look down, but he didn't see anything; or if he did he didn't say anything about it.  
Jeremy trusted his judgement, either way. He knew how careful (and paranoid) Ryan was about details.

"So is he...?" Jeremy reinstated, trying to regain Ryan's attention.

"Yeah, he's a ghost." Ryan replied.

Jeremy struggled with this for a moment, even though it was the logical conclusion. He was never one who believed in ghosts, growing up he was always told they were either demons or Angels, and Angels didn't commonly mess around like that. Even now he second guessed it, but he believed Ryan. 

'You guys are so weird about it.' Ray signed, floating level to them but past the edge of the roof.

Jeremy went as white as a sheet, falling back onto his hands in surprise. The flickering form had appeared out of nowhere, he was just suddenly there.

"Hi." Ryan offered.

'Hi.' Ray waved back.

"...hi?" Said Jeremy.

"What?!?" Squawked someone from the fire escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me listening to things I shouldn't be listening to from the fire escape on Tumblr at Supertinydom!  
> Comments are love <3


	14. And then there was One.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh ho ho! Someone's in for it!  
> (I ain't be dropping no Eves, sir!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, this is really late. Updates should be a bit more regular now, though.

At once Jeremy, Ryan, and Ray's heads snapped downward to the fire escape, eyes just catching a glimpse of gold as someone ran back inside.  
Ray disappeared entirely. Ryan hopped down- Jeremy still isn't sure how he did it- onto the fire escape. Jeremy went back to the stairs, running to catch the eves-dropper before he could blab to Geoff.   
A loud squawk was heard before he even saw Gavin. Ryan had grabbed him by the back of the collar, preventing him from running any further. 

"Oh no you don't," Ryan chuckled, pulling his backwards gently, as to not choke him. "You're not going anywhere."

"Well what was that?!" Gavin tried to squirm away from Ryan's grip. "Ooh! Jeremy! Help me out?"

Gavin cocked his head to the side, his eyes wide as he tried to coax him to help. To no avail, however. Jeremy simply joined Ryan.

"I'm not going anywhere." Gavin crossed him arms, pleading at Ryan.

"All right," Ryan relented, letting go of the collar. 

"You can let go now, you big- Wait a minute, you did..." Gavin looked around wildly, searching for the hand that still held firmly onto his collar. "What's going on?"

Ryan sighed. "Ray, let go of his collar."

Ray, flickering into view, let go of Gavin.

'Okay then, I just don't want to get exorcised.' Ray signed.

"Wait, can a ghost..." Jeremy muttered. All of the others' eyes shot to him as if to say, 'shut up.'

"Never mind." Jeremy decided.

"So..." Gavin began, eyes wide as he tried to stare anywhere but at Ray. His gaze finally fell on Ryan. "He's a ghost? Or, sorry, do you use- uh, what pronouns?" He finally stammered.

'He/him is good.' Ray signed.

"'Kay. He's a ghost-" Gavin gestured at Ray. "And you're all trying to keep him a secret?"

"We're trying to keep Geoff from knowing, yeah." Jeremy clarified.

"That... Makes a lot of sense." Gavin reasoned. "Hi! I'm Gavin."

He thrust out his hand toward Ray, as if to shake. Ray accepted the gesture, shaking his hand with some difficulty.

"So are we the only ones who know?" Gavin asked.

"Nah, Michael found out a little while back. He won't let it slip, though." Ryan said.

"The bastard! He didn't tell me!" Gavin pouted, crossing his arms and furrowing his brow.

'Yeah. And he's required to tell you everything.' Ray signed, the sarcasm thick in his motions.

"Pfft, 'course. He's my boi," Gavin joked. "And why are you lot up this late?"

"Couldn't sleep. I had to talk to Ryan." Jeremy answered.

"Just got back." Ryan replied.

"Oh." Gavin said, straightening the collar of his shirt. "And how long have you-" he pointed to Ray- "been stealing my blankets?"

Ray laughed, a sort of shuddering, hissing sound. 'Long enough for you to notice, apparently.'

Up until this point the light had been turned off. Suddenly it flicked on, the figure of Jack standing in the hallway.

"Go to sleep, you guys. It's almost morning." They yawned, unconcerned by Ray.

"Wait- do you?" Gavin questioned, blinking and rubbing at his eyes.

"Yeah. I've known that something was here for a while- And I knew that Ryan knew so I wasn't worried. Now go get some rest." Jack explained, turning around to go back to their room.

"Well, there's that." Jeremy finally said.

"So everyone but me knew?" Gavin huffed.

"Everyone but Geoff." Jeremy replied.

"And let's hope it stays that way." Ryan said as followed Jack into the bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me dropping some Eves on Tumblr at Supertinydom! Comments are love <3


	15. Hot Pockets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael has started something bigger than he knows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you Dark-Blue-Flag on Tumvlr for giving me this idea!
> 
> <3 You!

Michael and Ray both leaned in close toward to TV screen, fingers flying over their respective game controllers. On screen their characters fought viciously, neither having any clear advantage.  
Michael had chosen Mario as his character, and whether it was as a joke or not Ray picked Dark Pit.  
Both of their focuses were set on the game, dodging and parrying each other's attacks. Michael growled as Ray landed a blow, trying to maneuver to avoid flying offscreen.  
Ray's character was motionless as Michael attacked it, sending it flying off the edge of the arena.

"Ha! I win!" Michael gloated, grinning wide.

'No fair, my controller wasn't registering my movements.' Ray signed, setting down the controller.

"No fucking way, I even gave you the better controller." Michael scoffed in reply.

'No, I' Ray struggled to find the words to express the thought. 'It's hard to touch physical objects for that long.'

"I still won." He stated. "Rematch?"

'Asshole' Ray mouthed to himself, flicking out of view.

***

Michael had tried to microwave this Hot Pocket four times now, and each time he came back the microwave had stopped. It wasn't that it shut off- the time still displayed on the front, and it still responded to him. He was two more tries away from checking the interior connections- and that would fuck up the microwave for sure.  
This time deciding to watch it, Michael made sure the hot pocket was still in the microwave. Convinced it was, he shut the door once more and set it to go for two minutes.  
Sure enough, not after thirty seconds the time was cancelled.

Hit with the realization of what was going on, Michael groaned.

"Ray, you're an asshole!" He yelled, putting his hand over the control panel after he set it to heat.

Once more it was cancelled.

"Fine, whatever." Michael huffed, taking out the hot pocket and taking a bite.

It wasn't bad, but it was still cold in the center, courtesy of Ray. He munched on it for a bit, still standing in the kitchen.

"Who's Ray?" Geoff asked from the doorway.

Shit. Michael hadn't remembered that he was home.

"...An asshole." Michael hastily replied, leaving it at that as he ate his cold hot pocket.

Well fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me eating a cold, spite-filled hot pocket on Tumblr at Supertinydom!   
> Comments are love <3


	16. Thigh-Highs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray decides to have some friendly, definitely-not-weird, fun.  
> Involving Ryan Haywood, Geoff being out of the house, and a pair of black thigh highs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS NOT NSFW.  
> Saying that right now.
> 
> Thank you Dark-Blue-Flag for the idea <3

Ray smirked to himself, altogether too pleased with his idea.  
Geoff would be out all day, too. The perfect opportunity.  
Rifling through Gavin's things produced exactly what he was looking for- a pair of black, lacy thigh-highs. Further looking also found a pair of red high-heels; not too high, thankfully. He wasn't sure if he could maintain concentration to walk in stilettos.  
Ray snickered, concentrating on being as solid as possible. It wasn't too hard here in the penthouse- it was pretty close to...  
Never mind, Ray thought as he began to pull on the first stocking.

***

*click click click*

The sound of high-heels against the hardwood floor of the penthouse was unmistakeable to Ryan. He sighed, fully expecting Michael to round the corner of the hallway and strut into the living room.

*click click click*

He rounded the corner and...  
No one was there- at first glance, at least. It took a moment or two before Ryan looked down.

"Ray?" He questioned.

Sure enough, Ray flickered into view. Still wearing his gigantic hoodie- but rather than his typical ratty jeans he wore -real looking- lacy stockings and a pair of red heels.  
Ryan was grateful for how large the hoodie was- effectively covering anything more... Private. He was fairly sure he was wearing something under it, but he could never be sure with Ray.

'What? I'm not allowed to dress up?' Ray signed, grinning widely.

"No, that's not..." Ryan could feel his face heating as he looked at Ray, and turned his head away from him. "Are those Gavin's?"

'And what if they are?' Ray strode forward to the couch where Ryan was sitting. 'I doubt he'll mind.'

"He'll mind if we get them all gross." Ryan countered.

"James Ryan Haywood, you can't fuck a ghost!" Michael yelled not a moment later from the kitchen.

Ryan looked up at Ray where he was standing in front of him.

'Well we're not going to fuck, that's for sure.' Ray signed. 'I don't know if we could- even if I wanted to.'

Ryan swallowed and nodded.

'You can touch where the socks cover, though... Except my feet. Don't you ducking dare touch my feet.' Ray added.

Almost the moment Ryan touched him, however, the thigh-highs fell to the floor. It was as if Ray had never been in them in the first place.

"Now that's just indecent." Michael complained, stifling a laugh.

He had made his way into the living room by this point, eating a banana.

'Sorry, physical contacts is still... It's a little hard to maintain.' Ray explained, looking more than a little miffed.

"It's alright." Ryan smiled, casting a half-serious glare at Michael.

"Ryan, you still can't fuck a ghost." Michael laughed.

'Pfft, ghosts get thirsty too.' Ray signed.

Michael nearly choked on his banana. Ryan turned impossibly red, turning his face away from the both of them once more.

'And I look much better in these than Gavin.' Ray grinned, sitting down to once more put them on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me looking through Gavin's stuff on Tumblr at Supertinydom!  
> Comments are love <3


	17. Halloween

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A special Halloween chapter for ya!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I've been busy with other things. I have other writing I've been working on- so keep an eye out for me!

Halloween rolled around again- like it did every year: the crew in various shades of holiday spirit.  
Geoff, Jack, and Gavin threw themselves in- completely decking out the penthouse despite the obvious lack of kids coming to the door. They bought a shit load of candy too- they did every year. The few brave kids who were dared to go up there deserved something.

Michael and Jeremy were always a bit more wary- the holiday lacked the nostalgia when you didn't celebrate it as kids. Regardless they humored the others- dressing up mostly as a joke.  
Though, Michael strictly held by the Mean Girls quote "Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it", which always ended in some fun. This year was sexy nurse, apparently.

They were all pretty sure Ryan just took advantage of the fact it was deemed socially acceptable to be creepy.

***

*knock knock*

"I'll get it!" Geoff called, rushing to the door with a bag of candy.

Throwing open the door Geoff was greeted with a signed 'Trick or Treat!' From a teenager in a baggy hoodie and tight jeans. From head to toe they glowed eerily- eyes entirely blank.

"Cool costume, kid." Geoff remarked as he put a few handfuls of cans into the teens opened bag.

The kid grinned, signing 'thank you' before walking away from the door.

***

'Want some candy?' Ray signed to Gavin, who took an appreciative handful.

"Where'd you get candy?" Michael asked, stealing an almond joy from Gavin. "Did you go trick or treating, or steal it from Geoff?"

'Built in costume, baby.' Ray grinned, gesturing to himself.

"Fair enough. Wait weren't you..." Gavin's thought trailed off.

'The kid who knocked on the door?' Ray finished for him.

"Yeah, were you?" Gavin asked.

'...maybe.' Ray gave a shit eating grin, handing the bag to Michael.

"Dude, the fuck? How did Geoff not flip his shit?" Michael said, popping a chocolate in his mouth.

'How many Bloody Mary's has he had?' Ray signed, with an unsaid 'seriously?'

"Fair enough. Still, fuck you." Michael chuckled.

'You couldn't if you tried.' Ray signed, snickering.

Gavin nearly spat out the candy in his mouth at that, Michael burst out laughing.

"Duly noted." Michael laughed, getting up to go get the door, skirt swaying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me Trick-or-Treating on Tumblr at Supertinydom!  
> Comments are love <3


	18. Showers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack is so done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a month.... Sorry? I've been trying. Also Something to Say (Something to Lose), my new multichapter, is out!

Jack was, without a doubt, sure that one of them was going to die. Hell, if you counted Ray one of them already had.  
Not in a scared way, but they had already accepted that at some point their idiocy would backfire.  
This was certainly one of the more sure moments.  
At the moment they sat on the couch- halfheartedly scrolling through the same shitty shows on Netflix- when out of nowhere their afternoon was interrupted.

A loud and sudden thump came from the bathroom, followed by the sound of shower curtains being flung aside.  
Gavin's terrified scream came shortly after- the bathroom door bursting open as he ran out into the living room.  
Dripping wet, he was very much naked and still screaming as he furiously flapped his hands to calm down.  
So much for a peaceful Saturday.

"Gavvy, calm down. Are you alright?" Jack sighed, moving from their position on the couch over to where Gavin was.

He had stopped actively screaming by now panting heavily to catch his breath. He pushed his soapy hair out of his face so that he could see better what was going on. In one hand he held a towel- no, that was the hand towel- and the other he still flapped at his side.

Gavin took a deep breath and began babbling far too fast and far to British to understand- but he nodded in recognition to the question.

"Calm down. Breathe in." Jack put one hand on each of his shoulders- lightly in case he didn't want to be touched. "Breathe out. Alright, can you tell me what happened?"

"There was someone- There was someone in the shower..." He whined, putting his arms out to hug Jack.

With a defeated sigh they accepted the hug, pulling the still naked and upset Gavin close.  
He seemed to calm down at that- resting his head against Jack's shoulder and relaxing into the embrace.

"Alright, can you tell me what happened now?" Jack whispered, rubbing his back.

He loosed himself from the hug, far more calm now.

"There was- no I though there was someone in the shower... wait a minute. It was Ray, wasn't it?" Gavin's face scrunched, crossing his arms in annoyance. "The tosser." He muttered.

"Gavin. You're dripping wet, the shower is still running, and you're butt naked." Jack reminded, chuckling lightly.

They went to ruffle his hair, but, seeing the mistake in doing so beforehand, didn't.

Gavin squawked, covering himself with the small towel. Hastily he backed up into the bathroom once more, shutting the door behind him.

***

Jack heard the telltale hiss of Ray's laughter as soon as Gavin was back in the shower.

"Is scaring Gavin really that funny still?" They asked, scanning the room for him.

A cold shiver ran down the back of Jack's neck- one of Ray's preferred methods of catching their attention. Spinning around to face him was met with more laughter. Ray floated a couple feet off the ground- holding his stomach and grinning wildly.

'He's just so easy to freak out.' Ray signed, still laughing. 'Plus- you guys still like scaring him.'

"Fair enough," Jack sighed. "He's really jumpy." 

'Yeah, he is... Speaking of which- is Michael afraid of anything that you know of?' Ray's grin was bordering on malicious as he signed, still hissing.

"May I ask why?" Jack questioned.

'No reason' Ray smiled, leaning in closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me changing into dry clothes on Tumblr at Supertinydom!  
> Comments are love <3

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are love, Find my grave on Tumblr at Supertinydom <3


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